


Letters from the Road

by Bazylia_de_Grean



Series: Endings to Bring Closure [8]
Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 12:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18476650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bazylia_de_Grean/pseuds/Bazylia_de_Grean
Summary: "To lady Eidis,Your nosey friend the priest finds it incredibly amusing that I should be writing a letter which will not reach its recipient before I do..."(Letters from Thaos to Eidis.)





	Letters from the Road

**Author's Note:**

> (Prompt 28: Epistolary)

To lady Eidis,

Your nosey friend the priest finds it incredibly amusing that I should be writing a letter which will not reach its recipient before I do. That may be so, but whatever it is, it’s not his business, and...

And now, that he finally stopped looking over my shoulder, I can write. Not beginning this letter again because you will probably find the first paragraph amusing as well.

I hope you are busy; you usually are in the summer, between the harvests and the festivities, and your friends’ visits. But I remember you mentioned lonely evenings and mornings; you said it’s nothing, and almost made me fall for it, too. These letters will not reach you this summer, but they will keep you company next year.

What a curious thing; words have never been difficult to me before. I have preached countless sermons, I have negotiated, I have written miles of letters. Never private ones, though.

Go out into the garden, smell the flowers, play with your critters. Do all the things that are unbecoming of a thaynu of Caed Nua. And smile.

Yours. However terrible that sounds.

* * *

 

Soulmistress,

It feels... good, to be on the road again. It brings me back to the first days of my journey, when everything was easier. It’s different, of course; I haven’t been a scholar for a very, very long time. Ah, yes, I know you’re smiling now; you would say I have always been a scholar. I know better than to argue with you.

I don’t think I have ever thanked you for everything. For... this. I would like to do so now. It might not seem like it, but I am grateful. Though I suppose you already know that.

Still, I would like to tell you that you have been a blessing.

* * *

 

Soulmistress,

We have found an archive of sorts, so I have some new scrolls for your library – provided that they survive the journey. They were of no use to anyone in the ruins anyway, and you might find them interesting. Think of them as a belated birthday gift.

Try to be happy today. Drink with your friends and laugh and buy yourself another wurm. Or some ridiculous jewellery. I know, I know; I remember you don’t really wear any.

Speaking of that; I found some ancient copper and adra pieces you might like. If I find some artifacts to bribe the local Glanfathan tribe with, I might be able to bring those back, too.

What I mentioned above – Eidis, I mean it. Forget everything and let yourself be happy for a moment.

That is all I can wish you: find happiness, wherever it may be. You know what I mean. Don’t be afraid to think of it. You owe me nothing; I am the one who has a debt to pay.

Forgive me for bringing it up on a day like this. But there is nothing else I can offer you.

Sleep well, Eidis. And when you wake up, shine.

* * *

 

Soulmistress,

Nothing but meticulous research for the last few days. You would be bored. It’s like the most basic cipher exercises combined with simple animancy – nothing like you’ve seen in Defiance Bay, I assure you. Honest, elementary scientific methods. Repeated countless times.

Surprisingly, I don’t mind that. It helps, in turns, to think and not to think.

You would love to see the adra, though. I will bring you a piece if I find some that can be harvested safely. You would call it pretty – I suppose it is. It’s luminous, for certain.

Still, not as bright as your soul.

* * *

 

Soulmistress,

We are staying at the shore. Your friend the priest cannot stop gushing about the vastness of the ocean, and the hum of the waves, and all other things that are somehow typical for a coastal location. I’m sure he will be delighted to show you the sketches and tell you all about the, ah, ‘beauty of nature’.

However much I am mocking him... You would love it here. But there is no point in describing the place when you know how ocean shores look like.

I will tell you this: it is peaceful. I can close my eyes and breathe and do not think.

Almost as peaceful as it is beside you.

* * *

 

Eidis,

There is pilgrim’s crown in bloom everywhere; the ruins are drowned in it.

It smells like your hair. It smells of you.

I cannot sleep.

Is your blush as lovely as I remember, my queen?

* * *

 

Soulmistress,

I wish you were here. Not for sentimental reasons; you would love to see these ruins, to read these stones. You should, one day. Caed Nua survived years of neglect; it could surely manage a few days without its thaynu, overseen by her trusted people? Ah, I can picture you shaking your head. You really should learn to be more selfish. Just a little; just the healthy amount.

The ruins are... It’s difficult to describe something you’ve seen countless times. And besides, you know what Engwithan ruins look like.

It’s all very familiar. But it feels strange, to look at something I know from my past – every stone, every adra pillar, every copper wire – and realize that, in my perfect memory, I have forgotten so much. There is art next to technology, and I have been blind to it for ages. Or: I did see it, just didn’t notice.

I am watching everything carefully, to show you the memories when I get back.

It seems appropriate to end this letter with an Engwithan phrase:

_My soul is yours; you are my soul._

* * *

 

Soulmistress,

I can see the towers of Caed Nua on the horizon. Just barely; it’s getting dark. You’re probably brushing your hair before sleep. I can picture you, in your nightgown and in moonlight; an ethereal white adra goddess, to be admired from afar. I... appreciate that you let me worship you up close.

I will; tomorrow, my queen.

It’s good to be... Ah, no, it’s too early for that. But, no matter how I call it – it’s good to be back.

I can already see your light from here, when I close my eyes.

 


End file.
